Skanda Sashti

Skanda Sashti is devoted to Murugan—also known as Skanda, Kartikeya or Subrahmanya—and remembers his victory over the asura Surapadman. Tamil tradition narrates that the gods, oppressed by powerful asuras, sought divine help and Murugan emerged as the commander of the celestial forces. The struggle culminated on Sashti, when Surapadman was defeated; in a widely loved ending, Murugan did not simply annihilate his adversary but transformed the asura’s forms into the peacock that became his vehicle and the rooster that became his emblem. The episode, dramatically reenacted as Soorasamharam at major Murugan temples such as Tiruchendur, is interpreted as the conquest of arrogance and ignorance by courage and divine wisdom. Devotees may fast or take simple food during the six-day observance, recite Kanda Sashti Kavacham, visit Murugan temples and join processions. The festival is especially important in Tamil Nadu and among Tamil communities worldwide.

Skanda Sashti is valued for devotion, family tradition and the spiritual or seasonal meaning attached to the day.

Six days of fasting from the new moon, kept on one meal a day or on nothing. The Kanda Sashti Kavacham is recited. At Tiruchendur the Surasamharam is staged on the sixth evening in front of the sea, and the marriage of Murugan and Deivanai the next day.

Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Sri Lanka, with the largest observance at Tiruchendur, where the sea-shore temple stages the Soorasamharam on the sixth day. North India keeps the same tithi monthly as Skanda Sashti with far less ceremony.